Tiptronic v's Manual

Hello folks, about to venture into S4 Avant ownership and was wondering what are your views on the trade off/pros & cons between the manual and the tiptronic? if any
Have not driven either as of yet and really just looking for a heads-up.

Cheers

04 Phantom Black S4 Avant, Milltek and some other bits and bobs topped off with loads o polish....

if it was me I would go for the tip as there is more than enough power to keep you smiling through those country bends. But I am 31 and starting to get lazy with my driving. When I was young I used to change gear at the first opportunity, ( ) now I look for an opportunity not to change at all!

Resale value when you've finished with the car will be higher on manual though.

Thanks for reply, I take it when its in tiptronic you have total control over the gearbox?
The reason I ask is that the car will be towing now and again, had a shot of a 3.0d A4 and when it was in 'manual' mode, if you gave it anything more then half throttle it would change down. Why have load of torque and not be able to use it low down? Is the S4 different?

Thanks

04 Phantom Black S4 Avant, Milltek and some other bits and bobs topped off with loads o polish....

Thanks for reply, I take it when its in tiptronic you have total control over the gearbox?

Click to expand...

I have never driven a tiptronic S4, but various different A4's with the box fitted. And whilst i'm sure it is a good gearbox, I certainly wouldnt say you have "total Control" over it. From memory it would still change up if you didnt, refuse to change down if it risked over reving it etc .... I appreciate that you wouldn't generally do this, but it's not "total control" - just so you know!

I have a manual S4, when it was ill a few months ago I was given a tiptronic equiped 3.2 Quattro A6 to drive. To begin with it was a novelty but I soon tired of the box changing up on its own even in manual when pushed and well before the engine had given its all.

The 4.2 V8 engine revs suprisingly quickly for a V8 and I occasionally hit the limiter so I can imagine I would end up feeling the same if this car was tiptronic equipped.

The 6 speed gearbox is brilliant, I can imagine the kickdown would be phenomenal but its not for me as it certainly did not give total control in the car I drove.

Incidentaly the engine is a tight fit and runs hot what would you be towing?

Not gonna be towing anything heavy, small towavan and motorbike trailer mainly & neither will be long distance work.
From reading other posts some people say they are already fitted with additional radiators for cooling when towing, guess will find out when I find a suitable one to purchase.

04 Phantom Black S4 Avant, Milltek and some other bits and bobs topped off with loads o polish....

before i purchased i tried both the manual and the tiptronic s4
i enjoyed the manula dont get me wrong but it isnt as nce to drive as the tiptronic
as for changing up early mine certainly doesnt i have no problem hitting the redline

the next car I get will definately be tiptronic or dsg because the manual box shift isnt that nice and can be wearing in town especially when cold, and second gear seems to dog-leg slightly so you always have to push down and sideways to get second or you get 1st to 4th by mistake if your not careful, I hate having to concentrate on every gearchange to make sure I get it right!

Have Tiptronic myself and would love to have DSG!
Tiptronic... DSG... I thinks it's one of those things if you haven't got it you think you must have it - or at least give it a good go!
IMO - Auto with reasonable power is my choice particularly around town or near the worlds largest car park the M25 - although without question you have ultimate control with a manual, and that's where DSG I would guess should finally bridge that gap between auto and manual.
(Never driven any Audi with DSG but have driven an Aston Martin DB9 with paddle shift round a race track...........VRMMMMMMMMMMM.......... loved it.)

Tiptronic changes are not immediate as per DSG types, but are quicker over standard Auto boxes using the lower gear selections.

I've seen a few comments here saying that the Tiptronic in Manual mode will auto-shift-up when red lining - mine has NEVER done this so far?? Some of the time this has not been intentional - momentarily forgetting I'm in manual and I should be shifting up. I agree it will auto-shift-down when the revs get too low in a higher gear - i.e. when stopping at a junction. Perhaps I need to be red-lining a bit longer to see this effect, but obviously do not want to put unnecesary strain on the engine.

Perhaps it's more apparent on other Tiptronic / Engine combinations?
Mine is V6 3.0 Q with 5-speed Tiptronic.
Curious as to scenarios others may have during auto changes?

Hi Dan,
I'm just going from a B5 (2000) S4 Avant to a B6 S4 saloon tiptronic. I drove both the manual and tip and my preference is the tip for definate. The way I see it is there's Active mode (sequential) semi active mode (Paddles) and I'm a lazy git mode (Auto). They all will no doubt get used at some time (possibly not sequential as it's far too far away for my short arms. I found the change speed on the paddles to be really quick, it surprised me.
I can't wait, should get mine next week.

I've owned both manual and tip versions of B6 S4's and the tip get's my vote.

For spirited driving the manual get's my vote, though found the bite point of clutch to be quite high, which made round town stop start driving to be a chore. Typically used to use 2nd for pulling off in such scenarios as 1st gear was quite "digital" with an on / off effect to all but the lightest of right foot tickling and the 1st to 2nd change was a tough one to make silky smooth - it can be done, but not when driving lazily. I also used to short shift a lot 2nd to 4th ... using the torque, so again, for a wide amount of regular use, I was not using the full potential of the box.

The tip in standard mode is "relaxed"... you'd not know you're in a sports saloon without really encouraging kick down or gear holding under hard acceleration - and even then, it tends to hold bakc before a change, to make sure you really want to cane it - maybe thinking instead I just sneezed and had a throttle flutter?
It changes up early in full auto, just as the engine starts to come alive over 2.5K, so it's a quiet and sombre program, perfectly suited to a wide ragne of driving styles and driving conditions - it does really what it needs to for a car of this nature that is sold the world over to such a wide user base.
However in sport or any of the the other modes available, it truly is like a different car. Again, it's not quite as flexible as a manual, but in terms of required control off the track, it's more than capable for most situations.

The tip has never felt quite as fast to me as the manual, but that may be driver engagement playing a part whereas in sport you're just concentrating on the feeling of bugger all, to bugger me, to bugger this

If you can, try both. For an everyday driver, I went for a tip this time around and am pleased with my choice.

Now a DSG variant ... that might be the next temptation I find hard to resist.

hi,
i know i'm looking at this WELL after the last post but the info has been pretty good.
Am looking for a b6 s4 avant at the mo and am going to see a tip tomorrow. I'm a bit confused though as I'd presumed that all the tip's had paddle shift.
Is this not the case??

I have never driven a tiptronic S4, but various different A4's with the box fitted. And whilst i'm sure it is a good gearbox, I certainly wouldnt say you have "total Control" over it. From memory it would still change up if you didnt, refuse to change down if it risked over reving it etc .... I appreciate that you wouldn't generally do this, but it's not "total control" - just so you know!

All my previous cars were manual and always said I'd never have a "slush box". Bought the S4 based on conditon and mileage and happened to be Tip, thought I'd spend all the time using it in manaul paddle mode. As it turns out I never have and leave it in Drive pretty much all of the time. Drop it into Sport and the kick down is awesome to say the least.

I am extremely inpressed and to be honest don't think I will go manual again if there is choice.

For the traffic and road situation these days Tip is the future, and bizzarely the Co2 from the Tip is less...

That's due to the inflexibility in the emissions tests where manuals HAVE to change at certain speeds, regardless of different gearing in each car, while Auto's get to choose their own change-points, so diesels and engines with high torque at low revs will get penalised compared to what their real-world CO2 emissions and mileage actually are....

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